TY - JOUR A1 - Jha, Srijna A1 - Kächele, Harald A1 - Lana, Marcos A1 - Amjath-Babu, T.S A1 - Sieber, Stefan T1 - Exploring Farmers’ Perceptions of Agricultural Technologies: A Case Study from Tanzania JF - Sustainability N2 - The low agricultural productivity of key crops and food insecurity continue to be key issues in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and Tanzania. The growing population, depleting resources, and changing climate further amplify these issues. Globally, many agricultural technologies (AgTs) are available as pathways for improved agricultural productivity and food security, however, they have had relatively little success in SSA and Tanzania. This is because the uptake of AgTs is a complex process, which is highly localized, involving multiple actors, stages, and spatial and time dimensions. Smallholder farmers often experience issues of sustainability, constraints for adoption, and scaling-up throughout the uptake process of AgTs, all of which vary by region. This indicates a need for a systematic and simultaneous understanding of sustainability, constraints for adoption, and scaling-up of AgTs to better guide agricultural strategy and policy interventions in SSA and Tanzania. Moreover, in order to understand the local settings better, a consideration of the perceptions of the farmers themselves, who are the primary actors in the uptake process of AgTs, is key. Acknowledging this, the study takes on a case study approach, using the scaling-up assessment (ScalA) method and three focus group discussions with a total of 44 smallholder farmers to systematically and simultaneously assess the sustainability, constraints for adoption, and scaling-up of three AgTs (use of fertilizers, improved seeds, and small-scale irrigation) in Tanzania. The study finds that the farmers perceive all three AgTs to be sustainable for the study region. Adoption rates are perceived to be medium for use of fertilizers, high for improved seeds, and low for small-scale irrigation. The most significant constraints for adoption experienced by the farmers are lack of technical physical inputs, marketing facilities, and know-how. Scaling-up is perceived to be well fulfilled for use of fertilizers and improved seeds, but only partially fulfilled for small-scale irrigation, which is the most limited of the three AgTs. The most significant constraints for scaling-up experienced by farmers are a lack of confidence in the added value of the AgTs beyond project activities, marketing facilities, and technical physical inputs. The overall success potential is high for the use of fertilizers and improved seeds, and the average for small-scale irrigation. The farmers’ perceptions partially indicate why the bundle of AgTs is lacking in the study region and provide a basis for discussing targeted agricultural and policy interventions in Tanzania. KW - sustainability KW - adoption KW - scaling-up KW - agricultural technologies KW - farmer perceptions KW - agricultural productivity KW - food security KW - Tanzania Y1 - 2020 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:eb1-opus-3340 SN - 2071-1050 VL - 13 IS - 3 PB - MDPI ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kipkulei, Harison K. A1 - Bellingrath-Kimura, Sonoko D. A1 - Lana, Marcos A1 - Ghazaryan, Gohar A1 - Baatz, Roland A1 - Löhr, Katharina A1 - Matavel, Custodio A1 - Boitt, Mark K. A1 - Chisanga, Charles B. A1 - Rotich, Brian A1 - Sieber, Stefan T1 - Modeling the impact of climate change on maize (Zea mays L.) production at the county scale in Kenya JF - Regional Environmental Change N2 - Abstract Global climate change is projected to disproportionately impact cereal crop yields in developing regions, such as Kenya, due to increased vulnerability and limited adaptation capacity of the population. This study examines the current and projected influence of climate change on maize yields in two major maize-producing counties of Kenya. Utilizing the calibrated and evaluated DSSAT-CERES-Maize model (where DSSAT is Decision Support Systems for Agrotechnology Transfer and CERES stands for Crop and Environment REsource Synthesis) for the H614 maize cultivar, we investigated the projected impact of climate change on maize production with reference to a baseline period (1984–2013). Simulations were conducted for the mid-century period (2041–2070) and end-of-century period (2071–2100) using projected climate data from regional climate models (RCMs) under two Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs; 4.5 and 8.5) scenarios. Our findings indicate a substantial decline in maize yields, ranging from 7 to 20% for the mid-century period and between 22 and 41% for the end-of-century period, with increased temperature during critical growth phases identified as the primary driver. Spatial clustering and hotspot analysis reveal differential climate impacts across the region. In the end-of-century period, both scenarios revealed that the counties will be marked by hotspots and adaptation spots, areas where climate change adaptation should be intensified. The study underscores the urgency for tailored, location-specific adaptation measures such as maize-legume intercropping, drought-resistant crops, soil water conservation and optimum sowing to mitigate future yield losses and adapt maize production to climate change. KW - - KW - Climate change KW - Crop modeling KW - Impact KW - Maize KW - Kenya Y1 - 2025 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:eb1-opus-10014 SN - 1436-3798 SN - 1436-378X VL - 25 IS - 2 PB - Springer Berlin Heidelberg CY - Berlin/Heidelberg ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kipkulei, Harison K. A1 - Bellingrath-Kimura, Sonoko D. A1 - Lana, Marcos A1 - Ghazaryan, Gohar A1 - Baatz, Roland A1 - Löhr, Katharina A1 - Matavel, Custodio A1 - Boitt, Mark K. A1 - Chisanga, Charles B. A1 - Rotich, Brian A1 - Sieber, Stefan T1 - Modeling the impact of climate change on maize (Zea mays L.) production at the county scale in Kenya JF - Regional Environmental Change N2 - Abstract Global climate change is projected to disproportionately impact cereal crop yields in developing regions, such as Kenya, due to increased vulnerability and limited adaptation capacity of the population. This study examines the current and projected influence of climate change on maize yields in two major maize-producing counties of Kenya. Utilizing the calibrated and evaluated DSSAT-CERES-Maize model (where DSSAT is Decision Support Systems for Agrotechnology Transfer and CERES stands for Crop and Environment REsource Synthesis) for the H614 maize cultivar, we investigated the projected impact of climate change on maize production with reference to a baseline period (1984–2013). Simulations were conducted for the mid-century period (2041–2070) and end-of-century period (2071–2100) using projected climate data from regional climate models (RCMs) under two Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs; 4.5 and 8.5) scenarios. Our findings indicate a substantial decline in maize yields, ranging from 7 to 20% for the mid-century period and between 22 and 41% for the end-of-century period, with increased temperature during critical growth phases identified as the primary driver. Spatial clustering and hotspot analysis reveal differential climate impacts across the region. In the end-of-century period, both scenarios revealed that the counties will be marked by hotspots and adaptation spots, areas where climate change adaptation should be intensified. The study underscores the urgency for tailored, location-specific adaptation measures such as maize-legume intercropping, drought-resistant crops, soil water conservation and optimum sowing to mitigate future yield losses and adapt maize production to climate change. KW - - KW - Climate change KW - Crop modeling KW - Impact KW - Maize KW - Kenya Y1 - 2025 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:eb1-opus-10080 SN - 1436-3798 SN - 1436-378X VL - 25 IS - 2 PB - Springer Berlin Heidelberg CY - Berlin/Heidelberg ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Del Río Duque, Martha Lilia A1 - Löhr, Katharina A1 - Pérez-Lora, Ángela Patricia A1 - Lana, Marcos A1 - Castro-Nunez, Augusto A1 - Sieber, Stefan A1 - Bonatti, Michelle T1 - Toward understanding the scaling out of sustainable land use systems in Colombia: integrating case study insights and national pathways design for cacao farming JF - Discover Agriculture N2 - Abstract The unplanned expansion of conventional agriculture resulted in biodiversity loss and ecosystem degradation. Agroforestry systems (AFS) have emerged as a promising alternative to promote sustainable land use systems (SLUS) in tropical regions. This study explores the potential for scaling out SLUS from localized interventions to broader landscape-level applications in Colombian cacao agroforestry systems (CAFS). We employ a multi-level framework, integrating qualitative and quantitative data from primary and secondary sources. We apply text mining, cluster analysis, and principal component analysis. First, we identify the interconnections among agro-ecological, biophysical, economic, social, institutional, and political factors influencing the scaling out of SLUS in cacao farming in two municipalities located in conflict-affected Colombian departments. Secondly, we conduct a national quantitative exploratory analysis, grouping similar departments based on socioeconomic and biophysical data from official sources. This analysis provides the foundation for the design of regional typologies and an adaptive pathway for the scaling out of SLUS in cacao farming. This pathway encompasses five distinct departmental groups. Our findings highlight the need for a landscape-based approach that is sensitive to regional socio-cultural and institutional nuances. The analysis reveals that key variables, including land availability for agricultural use, water use risk level, deforestation, social conflict, land tenure informality, and agricultural productivity, influence the successful scaling out process across diverse regions. This study advocates for a collaborative approach that links scientific insights with practical initiatives co-created at the regional level, thereby empowering communities to design pathways for scaling out SLUS across Colombia. KW - - KW - Cacao agroforestry systems KW - Departmental typologies KW - Complex systems KW - Context-sensitive agricultural innovations KW - Local factors KW - Knowledge co-creation Y1 - 2025 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:eb1-opus-10200 SN - 2731-9598 VL - 3 IS - 1 PB - Springer International Publishing CY - Cham ER -